By Tim Lambert
Early Belfast
1611 Sir Arthur Chichester is granted land at Belfast. A small town grows up there.
1613 Belfast is made a corporation
Late 17th Century Belfast trades with the North American colonies. Tobacco is imported from there and sugar is imported from the West Indies. Belfast has a population of about 1,500-2,000 but it is swelled by French Protestants who introduce linen weaving.
1680 Belfast gains a piped water supply (for those who can pay)
1682 The first bridge is built over the Lagan
1686 Each householder is supposed to hang a lantern outside his house at night during the winter months
1700 Belfast has a population of about 2,500
1708 Belfast Castle burns down
1732 Belfast gains its first newspaper
1752 Belfast gains its first bank
1768 Belfast gains its first theatre
1773 17 million yards of linen is exported this year from Belfast
1777 Cotton spinning is introduced into Belfast
1780 Belfast has a population of about 13,000
1788 The White Linen Hall is built
1793 Shipbuilding begins in Belfast
Modern Belfast
1800 A Paving Board is formed to pave the streets of Belfast
1815 Belfast gains a hospital
1819 St George’s Church is built
1823 Belfast gains gas light
1839 A railway is built to Lisburn
1842 Belfast is made a borough
1843 Queens Bridge is built
1844 St Malachy’s Church is built
1848 Cholera strikes Belfast
1851 Clarendon Dock is built
1862 Ulster Hall is built. Harland and Wolff Shipyard opens.
1869 Albert Memorial Clock is built
1872 Horse-drawn trams run in Belfast
1888 Belfast is made a city
1890 Belfast Public Library is built. Albert Bridge is built.
1895 Grand Opera House is built
1896 St George’s Market is built
1901 Belfast has a population of 349,000
1904 Electric trams replace the horse-drawn ones
1906 City Hall is built
1911 The Titanic is launched in Belfast
1941 Belfast is bombed
1965 Kings Hall Conference Centre is built
1966 Queen Elizabeth II Bridge opens
1980 Crescent Arts Centre opens
1990 Castle Court Centre and Westwood Centre open
1997 Waterfront Hall opens
1998 Forestside Shopping Centre opens
2000 Odyssey Arena opens
2008 Victoria Square opens
